A year ago, if you had asked me which film would win the 82nd Academy Awards top-prize, I would have answered that Nine was most definitely one of the contenders. The Weinstein Company had a sure-fire winner on their release schedule. An Academy Award-winning director with a Best Picture musical in his name; a cast of brilliant actresses, lead by a greatly-talented lead actor; and it had the advantage of being one of the few big-budget musicals out there.

Buzz was everywhere, and there was little that could go wrong for the Weinsteins. Until, people actually saw the film. It was a reminder to the world that a film cannot rely solely on the talent of its cast and crew; a great film, a film worthy of an Academy Award nomination and win, a critically-acclaimed motion picture that will be remembered for decades to come, needs the whole package. Nine toyed around with its talent; without a good foundation, lacking that solid screenplay that should have held everything together, the film flopped.

Today, the 82nd Academy Awards ceremony will be held in the Kodak Theatre, and, in my opinion, we can already call it a success: this year’s Best Picture nominees, each and every one, deserves to win more than last year’s slumdog win. They might not all be as good—The Blind Side and Inglourious Basterds—but these films, at least, will stand the test of time better than Slumdog Millionaire has.

But enough stalling—let’s get down to my predictions and, most importantly, which films are in my opinion the best of 2009.

Best Films of 2009

Last year, none of the films I had chosen as Best-of were nominated for Best Picture. WALL-E, Doubt and The Dark Knight were better than The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire or The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and, looking back, I stand by that opinion. Furthermore, as you’ve already noticed, last year only three films were excellent. Though a step up from 2007 (when only There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men were, in my opinion, of Best-of quality), it’s not exactly a thing for the industry to brag about.

This year, five films made it onto my Best of 2009 list, and they were all nominated for Best Picture.

With the exception of WALL-E, last year’s films are crushed by this year’s.

Surprisingly, District 9, the low-budget science-fiction allegory, deserves to be recognised as this year’s most original Best film. The cinematography, the perfectly-blending special effects, and the simple nature of it all surprised me. Though Roger Ebert thought the third act was a bit too unoriginal and basic point-and-shoot, I think he ignored the humane switch the main character made in this particular act, and the fact that it mirrors actual world events. Anything else would have been, to me, too much liberal-propaganda.

Precious is most definitely the most heart-wrenching and emotional film of the year. A film that wants to be nothing else than honest—and in its honesty it may even tell us a little bit too much, actually. The performances by Mo’Nique and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe deserve to be recognised as extraordinary.

Somehow, I have very little to say about The Hurt Locker, the best film of 2009. It serves its topic the best, by focussing on an aspect of war untouched by filmmakers so-far. The film should win both Best Director and Best Picture, but the latter may be somewhat of a battle.

What can one say about Up that hasn’t been said about every Pixar film to date? The geniuses at Pixar know how to make a perfect film, and they know it so well that the world has run out of original adjectives to describe their films. I do have one sidenote: Up is a brilliant film, but what may lack is an original voice in it all.

Avatar. People have been talking about this film for years now, and they will be talking about James Cameron’s masterpiece for years to come. It has its own chapter in the history of cinema, even though it’s only a footnote in the history of storytelling. Avatar‘s biggest problem is its kindergarten screenplay. The visual and special effects are a cinematic feat—the experience, even in 2D, is thrilling—but will people still be talking about its story in a few years? I don’t think so.

Just to make a Cameron comparison here: when Titanic premiered and had its record-breaking box-office run, people couldn’t stop talking about it. Eventually, though, they did, and though Titanic is most-definitely still a great film, it has lost its golden shine. Will the same happen to Avatar? In my opinion, yes.

Academy Award for Best Picture nominees

Last year none of my picks were granted a nomination, this year every one, which also means that I can skip the first five on the list, and move on to discussing the bottom five.

1. The Hurt Locker (9.8)
2. Precious (9.7)
3. District 9 (9.7)
4. Up (9.6)
5. Avatar (9.6)
6. An Education (9.3)
7. A Serious Man (9.2)
8. The Blind Side (8.5)
9. Inglourious Basterds (8.3)
10. Up in the Air (—)

British drama films automatically have that glow of Best-of over them, and An Education is no exception. The film’s genius in a very sophisticated and simple way—which is also exactly what keeps it from a five-pointer grade. Because of its simplicity, it lacks the depth a true great film needs. Even so, Carey Mulligan is perfect as lead actress, and it is certain that she’s going to be one of the best of her generation. (If she picks the right films, of course.)

The Coen Brothers deliver yet another Coen gem with A Serious Man, a film that has cultural brilliance in every scene. Without being comedic, the film’s light-hearted, and features that winching-humour only the Coens do well. Yet, though that’s all fine and dandy, the last ray of light doesn’t escape the brilliant core. Something’s missing to pull it past just being a great film.

The Blind Side features the best Sandra Bullock performance ever, and it will probably bring her (deservingly) the Academy Award for Best Actress (in a year when she also brought us the horrible All About Steve, mind you), but, overall, the film doesn’t excel. Hell, I don’t even understand why it’s nominated for Best Picture in the first place.

The same can be said for Inglourious Basterds. I have an unpopular opinion to share with you—I liked the film; nothing more, nothing less. Heck, if it hadn’t been for that first act, I wouldn’t have bothered discussing it. If the film had ended after that superb Christoph Waltz first act, it would have been so much better. Hey, it may have even been a contender for the Academy Award for Best Live-Action Short Film. Think about that, Tarantino.

Also, during the film, I observed that Brad Pitt has officially become unable to play anything other than Brad Pitt. The Tom Cruise Paradox.

I haven’t seen Up in the Air (yet), and to be honest, the promotional material and videoclips have not really given me a reason to do so. I am interested in the performance of Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick, though—but only because they were both nominated for Best Supporting Actress. They must have done something to deserve that honour, right?

Random observations

I haven’t really thought these observations through, to be honest, but I still want to share them with you:

• In the acting categories, real performances will triumph over technical perfection this year. Where Morgan Freeman, Meryl Streep, and Penélope Cruz have put forth excellent performances, nobody thinks they have a shot at an Academy Award because their performances are “good in only a technical sense.” Apparently, they have become so good that they’re too good?
• Just a sidenote about Penélope Cruz’s Nine nomination: it should have been Marion Cotillard.
• In the Best Picture race it will be a battle between populism and high culture.
• Star Trek should have been included in that race instead of Inglourious Basterds. Or, Coraline. Heck, even Food, Inc. deserved it more, though I personally think documentaries should be separate (which they are; however, a Best Picture nomination is theoretically possible).

Note

This post hasn’t been copy-edited. Sorry.